Appeal Filed in Molestation Fantasy Case

Attorneys for a man imprisoned for writing sexual fantasies about molesting children in his journal asked a state appeals court Tuesday to order a lower court to dismiss the case.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union said the case violates Brian Dalton's First Amendment right to free speech. They also said Dalton's previous attorney was ineffective and that the trial judge abused her power.

The case has alarmed First Amendment experts, who believe Dalton, 24, is the first person in the United States successfully prosecuted for child pornography that involved writings, not images.

Dalton was charged after his mother discovered the journal in his home and gave it to authorities. He pleaded guilty in 2001 to pandering obscenity involving a minor, which falls under Ohio's pornography law. He then asked to withdraw the plea, so he could fight the constitutionality of the law.

The judge refused to allow the change, and ACLU attorneys filed an appeal. Dalton was sentenced to seven years for the journal and the judge reinstated a 1 1/2-year sentence from a 1998 child pornography conviction because he violated probation.

Steven Taylor, an assistant county prosecutor, said Dalton's lawyer discussed the constitutional questions with him, but Dalton told his attorney he wanted the case to end quickly to spare his family embarrassment.